Chassis dynamometers are used to measure various performance parameters of motor vehicles from which diagnoses can be made of possible engine, drive train or suspension faults in the vehicle. A chassis dynamometer may also be a component in apparatus for simulated driving of a motor vehicle, for example for driver training or simulated racing as disclosed in the applicant's co-pending International application No. PCT/AU2005/000131 (WO 2005/076242 A1), entitled “Apparatus for Simulated Driving of a Motor Vehicle” filed concurrently with the present application.
A chassis dynamometer typically includes pairs of rollers for rotatably supporting the drive wheels of a vehicle such that the vehicle remains stationary whilst a “driver” thereof operates the vehicle's controls to provide power to and thus rotate the drive wheels, thereby rotating the rollers from which various signals are derived allowing for fault diagnoses if the vehicle is being tested, or for the generation of virtual scenic imagery for driving simulations as disclosed in the applicant's above-mentioned concurrently filed International application No. PCT/AU2005/000131 (WO 2005/076242 A1).
To minimize risks to safety, a motor vehicle being tested or involved in a simulated driving session on a dynamometer apparatus should be secured in position relative to the dynamometer to prevent its drive wheels, as they are being driven under power, from inadvertently coming off the rollers with consequential loss of control of the vehicle. Typically a vehicle is restrained on the chassis dynamometer by the manual securement of a number of hold-down chains, bands, ropes or the like between the vehicle and the dynamometer. However this method of securement is slow and thereby inefficient because it lessens the available time for productive use of the dynamometer. For example, in the case of a dynamometer that is part of apparatus for simulated driving of a motor vehicle, particularly for simulated racing, as disclosed in the applicant's above-mentioned concurrently filed International application No. PCT/AU2005/000131 (WO 2005/076242 A1), it is desirable to have as high a throughput of vehicles through the racing simulation apparatus as possible to ensure that operation of the apparatus is commercially viable.